Goats!

And just like that, we adopted two goats!

We've been going on and on for years that we needed to add goats to the mix and maybe even a pair of mini-cows so that we more completely grazed our pastures. We even had a name and phone number on a sticky-note mounted to our computer monitor for the last 10 months: Casey the Goat Girl.

Well, two days ago (June 4th), Todd, in a moment of inspiration, snatched the note from the monitor and texted, "So, you got any goats?"

A few hours later, these two cuties joined the sheep in the south pasture.

We know next to nothing about goats, but we'll learn. We're sure they aren't all that different from sheep. We'll still consult with the local vet and make sure we get them on the right vaccine schedule and ensure they get adequate minerals.

Let's meet the goats:

1. They are twins! They were born on February 6th, 2022. Today is their four-month birthday!
2. Both are female (doelings).
3. We now know why baby goats are called kids. When distressed they let out a blood-curdling wail that sounds like a 5-year-old human being tortured. Unnerving.
4. Breed: Boer-Nubian cross—meat and dairy breeds.
5. Yup! They have horns. Fun!
6. Right now they weigh about 40 pounds a piece. Fully grown, they will probably top out at around 200 pounds each. That's a lot of goat!
7. Names? They will each get a number when we ear-tag them. All of our sheep have names as well. Those names just happen to be numbers. :)

On day one, the sheep treated the goats like alien invaders and ran from them. Sheep and goats are cousins, but . . . I suppose it would be similar two what would happen if we stopped off at a high school, opened a door to a school assembly, shoved in a couple of chimpanzees, quickly shut the door, and then ran away. The goats immediately want to join the flock. The sheep ran away from them. It was a circus for the first hour before they all agreed to which corner of the paddock they were allowed to hang out in. One ewe, #41, enforced this with a headbutt if they got too close.

On day two (today), the sheep have shown more tolerance—I mean, come on! They are so cute!!!—and have allowed the goats to hover just outside of the flock. We figure in a week's time, they will just be part of the family.

Welcome to the family, little goats!